Abstract
This chapter explores the status of the paratext as part of the graphic narrative book’s extended medial apparatus. Paratexts are particularly important for documentary comics: they announce and explain the unconventional combination of medium and genre (in prefaces or blurbs), and fulfill the author’s pledge to accuracy (in notes, bibliographies, and other appendices). The paratext is discussed not as a stable material frame or ontological boundary for the book but rather as a pragmatic space to manifest framing strategies—which are subject to change with editions. Nevertheless, the materiality of the book is discussed as a distinguishing factor against digital media. The chapter discusses different functions of the paratexts, such as advertising the book as a commodity, sparking the reader’s interest, and offering clues toward the generic status—and, importantly, guiding (potential) readers in their interpretation of the text and the represented conflicts.
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Notes
- 1.
“Paratext” in the singular will describe the apparatus of different texts that are attached to the book, while “paratexts” in the plural will refer to its manifestation as different types of paratext.
- 2.
Although Frow acknowledges that literary artifacts are also framed “on a general scale … by the publishing apparatus and by their position in the literary system” (1982, 26).
- 3.
- 4.
Merriam-Webster Online, s.v. “dispatch,” accessed June 24, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispatch.
- 5.
- 6.
The special edition of Safe Area Goražde , once more, constitutes an exception. Here, the image is framed passe-partout style in the middle of the front cover and surrounded by two more silver-lined frames. The image itself, also printed in silver ink, is not taken from the narrative itself, but from another reportage Sacco did during his research, as he reveals in the included essay on the creation of the work (2011, n.p.). Such visual framing of the cover image adheres to practices of showcasing “high art” and serves as another indicator of the value of the special edition. The fact that the image does not anticipate the narrative discourse, is, undoubtedly, related to the fact that this edition is aimed at especially involved readers, who will likely already be familiar with the actual narrative.
- 7.
- 8.
Sacco also includes a foreword (2009a, ix) between the title page and the first chapter, which will be discussed in detail below. While this foreword explicitly introduces the 1956 Khan Younis massacre, for this consideration, it will be assumed that some readers may opt to initially skip this foreword and browse through the front matter first.
- 9.
For further discussion of this matter concerning comics, see also Comics and Critical Librarianship: Reframing the Narrative in Academic Libraries (Piepmeier and Grimm 2019).
- 10.
To enhance readability, all general considerations regarding “prefaces” are intended to apply to afterwords or “postfaces,” as well, unless otherwise stated (cf. Genette 1997, 196). Moreover, forewords and prefaces will be addressed synonymously. Likewise, the considerations concerning “notes” also apply to other appendices as well.
- 11.
In documentary comics, prefaces are typically autographic and original; that is, they have been written by the authors and are an initial part of the work. Genette also addresses “allographic” prefaces that are not written by the author, but subsequent editors or publishers (1997, 237 ff.). Such prefaces are uncommon in documentary comics, which may be attributed to the close connection between the person of the author and the narrative discourse, and to the fact that all of the selected authors are still alive at the time of writing.
- 12.
Commonly, graphic memoirs do not include prefaces or afterwords, as major works such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home exhibit. One explanation would be that a graphic memoir already allows authors to address their concerns and meta-reflections within their stories. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis , however, includes an “Introduction” that outlines the history of Iran. Only in the last paragraph Satrapi addresses her intent, stating that with Persepolis she means to show the world a different side of Iran and also to commemorate her oppressed and murdered compatriots—a distinctly documentary aim.
- 13.
Although some readers will likely diverge from this pattern and read prefaces later (cf. Genette 1997, 237), a chronological reading order will be assumed. For this study, the placement of a text as either pre- or postface will be taken as an indication of, at least, the hypothetical intent to offer such information before or after the narrative discourse.
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Schmid, J.C.P. (2021). Material Framing: The Paratext. In: Frames and Framing in Documentary Comics. Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63303-5_3
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